Carroll on Okung: 'It's pretty clear how this should go'

The Seattle Seahawks practiced for about two hours this afternoon with about 2,500 fans on hand.

They were treated to a controlled scrimmage at the end of practice, in which the first offense looked pretty crisp, moving methodically down field to score on the first defense, while the second and third offenses struggled against their counterparts.

Hasselbeck completed 4-of-5 passes on his drive, punctuated by a 28-yard completion to Deion Butler down the sideline.

Officials also were on hand, as Carroll once again worked to create game-like conditions.

“I thought it was a good opportunity to show our players how far they’ve come along from where they started to this point, Carroll said. “And I’m not surprised at all that we could handle it.

“I thought Matt was very much in command of the tempo and did a very nice job handling his drive. And it worked out very well for the first time out.”

We also got to see Earl Thomas out on the field for the first time during training camp. The 21-year-old safety out of Texas signed his contract this morning, a five-year, $21.1 million deal, with $12.32 guaranteed, and was out on the field working at safety alongside Lawyer Milloy with the first unit. Thomas said he’s been in town for the last three weeks waiting for the deal to get done.

Thomas had a nice hit during team drills on tight end John Carlson down the seam, jarring a potential completion loose.

“It’s definitely special," Thomas said. "Since I was playing little league football this is all I wanted to do. So a lot of people talk about it, but it’s fun to finally be here. So I just thank God that I’m here and I’m able to take care of my family.”

With Thomas in camp, offensive tackle Russell Okung is the lone draft pick who remains unsigned, something Carroll would like to see taken care of.

“I think it’s a concern for him everyday,” Carroll said. “The stuff that a rookie misses in these days is immeasurably marked against him. And Russell, like Earl, wants to be out here, but this is really hard on him. And so we just keep moving and we’re not worrying about it on our end of it. But I feel bad for Russell right now.”

Asked about the slotting of Okung’s deal being taken care of with No. 5 overall pick Eric Berry signed with Kansas City and No. 7 overall pick Joe Haden done in Cleveland, Carroll had this to say.

“It’s pretty clear,” Carroll said. “All of the work has been done in the staging and the position that we’re in, so it’s pretty clear how this should go. And we’re absolutely ready to get it done right away. And they’ve got to pick up the phone and respond and make sure we get a chance to get our work done.”

Some tidbits

* The Seahawks released safety James Brindley to make room for Thomas on the 80-man roster.

* Linebacker Aaron Curry did not practice on Sunday. Carroll said he got “dinged up” during Saturday’s practice. The damaging hit likely occurred when Curry and RB Justin Forsett smacked heads during team drills when Curry rushed the passer and Forsett picked him up in pass pro.

* Just watching offensive line coach Alex Gibbs work with the interior linemen made me tired today. He works at a frenetic pace, quickly moving guys through drills as he shows them different defensive line stunts and how to react to them. Players were scolded when they didn’t get it right, and they didn’t seem to make the same mistake twice.

* Cornerback Kennard Cox continues to impress. He broke up another pass today, this one an out route to T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and has been working with the second unit along with fellow corner Roy Lewis.

* Cornerback Walter Thurmond was full go today, and did a nice job of filling on a screen pass to Quinton Ganther to stop a drive for the second unit defense.

* Linebacker Joe Pawelek had a nice pass break-up during the controlled scrimmage. Dexter Davis, Nick Reed and Kevin Vickerson also made plays in the backfield for the defensive line.

That's all for now.

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About the Seahawks Insider Blog

Gregg Bell joined The News Tribune in July 2014. Bell had been the director of writing for the University of Washington's athletic department for four years. He was the senior national sports writer in Seattle for The Associated Press from 2005-10, covering the Seahawks in their first Super Bowl season and beyond. He's also been The Sacramento Bee's beat writer on the Oakland Athletics and Raiders. The native of Steubenville, Ohio, is a 1993 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and a 2000 graduate of the University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.